Urgent calls have been made for street lighting and footpaths to be installed along a new stretch of the AWPR to allow locals to safely catch a bus.
Residents at Bridgend, Fornety and Tarty have always had to walk across the main A90 Aberdeen to Ellon road to reach the Tipperty stop, but since the new dual carriageway and slips roads have been introduced they now face a 45-minute trek with “much faster” traffic zooming past them.
Now Gordon MP Colin Clark has called for Transport Scotland to install street lights to heighten driver awareness and allow residents to safely cross the road.
Aberdeenshire Council, in the meantime, urged bus users to travel to Ellon and switch there rather than attempt to cross the A90.
Locals last night said the bus stop was “crucial” to the community, and said they felt like they were now taking their “life in their hands”.
Albert Hamilton has lived in Fornety for 44 years and is a regular bus user along with his wife.
The 68-year-old said he had been told one alternative to walking the 45 minutes to the bus stop was to “hail and stop” the bus at the new sliproad roundabout, south of Bridgend at the new Newburgh junction.
But he said: “I don’t think that is very safe at all. There is nowhere for the bus to stop – it’s crazy.”
Mother-of-two Kelly Mann said she now drives her son to school because it’s “not safe to cross that main road” and feels the community has been “forgotten about”.
The 40-year-old, from Bridgend, said: “The road is a hazard – and it’s going to get worse, cars will just be going much faster once the two lanes are opened up.
“On dark nights you can’t see the bus stop at all, and you are taking your life in your own hands trying to cross the dual carriageway.”
Mr Clark has now written to Transport Secretary Michael Matheson about the matter.
He said: “I understand there is an existing issue with having to cross the busy A90, but with no footpath planned as part of the new junctions or any street lighting I feel it is extremely dangerous. I have asked as a matter of urgency that this issue be looked at.”
At Blackdog, 11 miles south of Tipperty, residents have also spoken out recently about feeling cut off from the public transport system.
One resident Edna Booth, 85, says she can no longer go to doctor appointments or go shopping after the village bus stop was moved further away from her home onto the new A90 slip road.
Last night, a Transport Scotland spokesman stressed the road orders, outlining the proposals for arrangements for Tipperty, were approved in 2012 following an extensive consultation process.
“The location of the bus stop was agreed with stakeholders including the local authority and bus companies. Transport Scotland, as trunk roads authority, does not determine the provision of public transport and school buses,” he said.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “In terms of access to Stagecoach services, we recommend that Bridgend bus users planning to travel south continue to take the bus to Ellon and change buses for the southern leg rather than cross the A90. Stagecoach do not charge extra for this.
“Reinstatement of the southbound bus stop and shelter at Bridgend is scheduled as part of the ongoing works in that location and we have also committed to approach Transport Scotland to explore the possibility of creating bus stops on the slip roads south of the Bridgend area, although we appreciate this may not be possible.”
And Stagecoach North Scotland moved to assure residents that they would be holding a public consultation once the AWPR work is completed.
A spokeswoman said: “The issues raised are in the responsibility of Transport Scotland and Aberdeenshire Council and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure the area remains well connected by bus with waiting facilities that are easy to access. “
